Chapter 11 - THE SLAP IN THE BACKYARD
The stepfather did not press aggressively over the slap.
Police had seen the red mark.
Witnesses saw the sequence.
He charged toward us and reached for my son.
I put my child behind me.
Then I struck.
The prosecutor reviewed whether the slap was reasonably connected to protecting the child or crossed into retaliation.
The timing was close.
No second strike.
No pursuit.
No weapon.
No charge ultimately filed against me after review.
That did not make the slap wise.
I started counseling anyway.
Voluntarily.
My family mocked me until my father attended one session with me and decided the counselor was “annoyingly competent.”
Then everyone stopped.
I learned something simple:
A man from a Mafia-style family has to be more careful with threatening gestures, not less.
May you like
My surname already supplies half the threat.
I do not get to supply the rest casually.
